Big E Must Benefit from Intercontinental Championship Tournament

All this fanfare around an intercontinental championship tournament, and I almost forgot who the champion was.

Big E is getting matches on every program but Monday Night Raw. I understand and somewhat admire WWE for actually having storylines and consistency on its other programs, but Raw is where the important stuff is.

If a storyline isn't addressed on Raw, it's not going to make a pay-per-view card. Oh excuse me, special event card.

We're seeing Big E watch from a monitor backstage as all of these tournament matches take place to declare who his opponent will be at Extreme Rules. I cannot help but feel concern for Big E's future.

It's my prediction that he works against Bad News Barrett in the title match at Extreme Rules. It's my hope Big E retains the title. If WWE is going to once again try to push Barrett, that's fine, but having him win the title in one attempt doesn't do anybody any good.

Let this be something that carries out for a few weeks, because if Big E drops the title in his first defense against Barrett, then what? He gets a rematch, likely loses and then who does he work with?

WWE is in the middle of a mission to bring back credibility to the IC title. It has to because it's the No. 2 title once again with the world titles unified. This tournament was a great decision as any tournament brings importance to the prize at the end of the rainbow.

The key is to make sure the title and the two men in the match are enhanced.

Extreme Rules is an interesting show because it will be the first significant show in this new year on WWE's calendar. It's a year that we've already seen in the past three weeks, WWE has a certain level of dedication toward replenishing the roster with youth and new characters.

In the middle of this youth movement are veterans of Evolution on their reunion tour. I'm convinced they need and will have a fourth member who is a young star.

What if whoever leaves the match as IC champion later joins Evolution at the end of the night, and that's how the group overcomes The Shield and the climactic ending to the event!

It plays perfectly into the hands of the IC title being important and a young career being appropriately placed into Evolution. However, between Nexus and The Corre, I think Barrett has used up his time share in factions.

Big E has all the tools to be successful and is just needing more experience as everyone is. He's got a look, athletic ability and charisma. We haven't see as much of the charisma on the main roster, but his days in NXT show there is much more to him than the world-class strength he possesses.

He must benefit from this tournament. I'd like him to remain the title holder, but if he's going to drop the title, WWE has to have a creative plan for him immediately which justifies him out of the title picture.

Otherwise, the bad news is going to be more than just Barrett's moniker. It's going to be forecasting the future of someone with too much potential to waste in Big E.

Justin LaBar is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the creator of the "Chair Shot Reality" video talk show and "Wrestling Reality" radio show.